Fretless? Fretted? Modulus?

1. If (for whatever reason) a player could only have 1 bass and that player played a wide variety of music (top 40, worship, country), could that player pull it off using a fretless? Or, would that player be better off with a fretted model? (Assume that the player is competent with regards to proper intonation, etc.)

2. Has anyone played a fretless Modulus Quantum? If so, does the composite fingerboard and Bart pickups give you that signature mwah?

First, from everything I've heard about Modulus Quantums, they make excellent fretless basses (especially with Barts). I personally have never played one, but I have heard good things. I am willing to bet it'll give you some great fretless characteristic with some nice punch as well. I was lucky enough to pick up a used Zon Sonus Special fretless, and it's a killer fretless for sure. So, Zon may be another route to consider...

However, for a wide variety of music like you describe, I'm not really sure that having a fretless only is going to be a good idea. I think fretless would be great for worship music and perhaps country as well. My concern would be with the top40 type stuff. I would think something traditional like a fretted J-bass would much better in that situation.

Ultimately, I think it would be a good idea to sit down in a music store with a fretless for a while. While it would be great if it were the bass you're thinking about buying, that's probably not absolutely necessary right away. You really just need to play the fretless for a bit and see what you think of the sound. If you can get the tone you're looking for, then I would say go for it!

For me personally, if I could only have one bass (perish the thought!), it would be a Zon Sonus Custom fretless. I dig how they sound, they can cut through, and I've even heard some good slap tones from them. Plus, I really love playing fretless.

As with anything, your mileage will vary. I hope some of the more experienced player here can jump in on this one to offer a little more insight. And as always, I hope this helped!

You really just need to play the fretless for a bit and see what you think of the sound.

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Good point. In fact, I'm going to approach my instructor this weekend to see if he'd let me swap basses with him for a few days (one of his basses is a Kingston fretless and I have a p-bass). I think a few days with a fretless, playing at my leisure, will tell me if I want to pursue that or stick with a fretted (for now).